I tore into the creature’s flesh and quickly wolfed it down. Unsure of what to do with my elven parts, I just crossed my arms. I noticed Cellestra suppress a giggle at the sight.

Hey, what else was I to do?

“How is it?” Cellestra asked from behind.

“A bit bland, but it’s actually pretty good. I have to say that eating meat raw has a certain… how do I explain this? It has a certain flavor that’s just not there anymore once it’s cooked. Being able to eat raw meat like this isn’t such a bad thing.”

“You’ve come to terms with yourself quite well, haven’t you?”

I sighed. “I guess I have. There is no denying the upsides of this body. Even the problem of not being able to sleep in a soft bed seems to be mostly solved.”

“Heh,” Cellestra chuckled. “I can imagine.”

I continued eating the snake until there was nothing left but its organs. I tossed what was left to the side of the tunnel and continued making my way down.

“Any luck?” The elf asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing so far.”

“Do you think you may have to eat the rest?”

“I sure hope not.”

Right after I’d said that, I heard a hiss coming from further down. Soon, another large snake slithered into vision. However, this one was completely green. I didn’t let its abnormal color scare me off. I skittered closer and summoned my ice wall with my elven brain when it was about to spray venom.

This snake in particular seemed to spray far more venom than the ones I’d fought so far. When it spit it at me, my entire ice wall got covered with green liquid, obscuring my vision. From behind my ice wall, I cast the lightning arc spell with my spider parts. Being able to cast two spells at the same time proved to be quite useful.

Thanks to the way lightning arc worked, it didn’t take long to kill the creature.

You have killed a Noxious Titan Cave King Cobra: No experience was awarded.

So… it was green because it specialized in venom? That sounded much like a certain evolution I knew that applied to me. If this was the case for more creatures in this world, I imagined this information would be useful to keep in mind.

“That’s quite the spell,” Cellestra said in awe. “I could feel the power emanating from it all the way back here.”

“I think it’s my most powerful spell at the moment,” I said as I skittered closer to the dead snake and tore open its corpse to start eating. “Its power grows as I channel the spell in exchange for using more and more mana to sustain it. Mana is the one thing I don’t have a shortage of right now. Maybe I should teach you this spell before anything else?”

“Hum,” Cellestra let out. “If that’s how it works, then that could be a good idea for sure.”

I’d only eaten about a fifth of the snake when a message showed up.

Devour (Evolving) effect activated.

You have been awarded 50 EP

I stopped eating and tossed what remained to the side before letting out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Cellestra asked as she cocked her head.

“I got fifty evolution points from that. If there’s anything that I don’t have a shortage of, it’s that. I was hoping for a new enhancement instead.”

“Maybe it will come in useful one day.”

“I hope so,” I said as I continued my way down.

Somehow, there weren’t more of these cobras, so I soon set foot in the swamp area. Cellestra, like me when I first arrived here, was staring at the ceiling and taking in its colorful collection of luminescent plants and fungi.

“Told you,” I said with a smile.

“Besides the smell and terrain, this place is magical.”

“Unfortunately, there is just too much of that. This place is a swamp. Murky waters and a terrible smell pretty much define that, doesn’t it?”

“Unfortunately, that’s true.”

“Well,” I said, “It’s time to go fishing again. Watch this.”

I summoned a line of thread and fired it into the murky waters to the right of the path. Within seconds, air bubbles surfaced near it. Soon after that, the water dispersed and a long snout surfaced. I waited until the crocolisk set foot on the dirt before I summoned an earthen spike, followed by another one as these dungeon creatures had seemed tougher than the ones in the outside world.

Those spells seemed to do the trick. The spikes impaled its vulnerable, soft belly, but didn’t pierce all the way through anymore. Nevertheless, it was enough to kill it.

You have killed a Large Mire Crocolisk: No experience was awarded.

“Wait, does that thing have six legs?” Cellestra asked, leaning to the side to get a better view of what I’d just killed.

“I guess that is what makes it a crocolisk and not a crocodile,” I concluded.

“Huh, I never would have known something like this existed. It makes me wonder what other creatures dwell in dungeons.”

“In here? I haven’t seen many interesting things. I’ve seen these crocolisks, giant toads, and mosquitos that seemed to be a favorite snack of said toads.”

“I hate mosquitos,” Cellestra stated clearly, and with a certain aversion in her eyes.

“Yeah, no kidding. Fuckers kept me up plenty of times at night. I just can’t fall asleep when I even know there is one nearby.”

Cellestra nodded. “I know that feeling.”

“And you have plenty of problems regarding sleep as it is.” I continued. “I wonder if being a giant spider keeps them away from me. That would be one more upside if that’s true.”

Cellestra was about to talk when another crocolisk surfaced. I was quick to react by stepping back and summoning another two spikes to kill it.

You have killed a Large Mire Crocolisk: No experience was awarded.

“Well then. It seems I can’t catch a break to eat here,” I said.

“So…” Cellestra started. “Kill everything nearby?”

“My thoughts, exactly.”

I started casting multiple threads to get the attention of any crocolisk lurking in the dark waters. I managed to ‘fish’ up three more, after which no more appeared. They converged on my location, and I summoned earthen spikes with both my spider and elven bodies to speed up the process. I ignored the three messages that appeared. I already knew what they said.

I skittered over to them and pulled them together in one heap. Their bellies were already cut open by the spells which made accessing the edible parts a lot easier. Their hides were extremely durable.

“Well,” Cellestra said as I started eating. “Guess I’ll have to wait for a while.”

“Hey you’re the one who wanted to join,” I fired back.

“True. I’m happy I tagged along though. This place is really something else.”

She stared back at the ceiling. “I wonder if any of those would make for good ingredients in potions…” She thought aloud.

“No idea. I might be able to climb the wall and collect some for you, if you want.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I think they were specifically used by the dungeon to illuminate this area. I doubt they have much other use. Besides, I don’t want to go through the entire process of finding out if they are safe for consumption and all the tests that are involved with it again. I’m seriously considering traveling with you, and I just can’t take all my equipment with me.”

“You think you’ll have better chances at finding a cure with me?” I asked out of sheer curiosity.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about. I think I do. I mean, look at it rationally. You have powerful magic that is unnatural to this world. You have the blessing of a goddess and she said she wishes to talk to you. Do you have any idea how rare that is? How much of an opportunity it could offer me if you want to help me?”

“I do wish to help you, yes,” I replied softly while Cellestra was gathering her thoughts before continuing.

“In that case, I doubt any traditional alchemy would offer me better chances. Especially if you consider how long I’ve worked on it that way, and how little I managed to come up with so far. One other thing is that you are somehow able to get more abilities still. All of these factors combined… I think you’re my best bet, Kealyna.”

She had come to a conclusion that I’d thought about before. The thing was, she did it on her own, without me interfering. If she wished to go with me, I’d happily take her with me when I set out on my own quest. There was no doubt in my mind that we could figure out more things about her curse as we went, especially if Elysa could provide help, or even just hints.

“Just take your time to think about it. You know I want to set out soon, but I also don’t want to force you into a hasty decision. I won’t tell you what to do, either.”

While we conversed, I ate the crocolisks.

“What do you think I should do?” Cellestra asked.

“You need to decide for yourself.”

“Yes, but I’d like to hear what you think.”

“I think everything you said is true. I think we may be able to figure more out about your curse together than you can on your own.”

“I think I’ll just do it,” Cellestra said, a note of conviction present in her voice. “My old life be damned, I’ll do it,” She said again.